One German-based contractor has started a political action committee and recruited budget experts to help its pitch for U.S. anti-terror money. Microsoft has hired a former Coast Guard commander to oversee its homeland bidding, and several firms are creating special units to help companies compete for billions in new national security spending.
"It's our intent to become a politically sophisticated player here," said Gregg Ward, head of the Washington lobbying office of German-based Siemens AG, whose business includes medical systems, IT, energy, transportation and communications.
The bill approved this week to create a domestic security department offers high-tech companies a chance to share in at least $500 million a year in research and development grants -- and they hope that's just for starters.
The new department will give industry a front-row seat as it sets its priorities. The legislation calls for "private sector advisory councils" composed of industry and trade group representatives who will advise the department on security products, services and policies.
The government's anti-terror spending could reach into the billions in coming months -- an enticing prospect for many companies as the faltering economy makes new business hard to find.
Siemens currently is sharing a $1.37 billion federal contract with Boeing to install and maintain explosive detection equipment in airports and to train baggage screeners. The company is using that U.S. contract, awarded in June by the Transportation Security Administration, as a selling point as it seeks similar work in other countries, Ward said.
Siemens is seeking to raise its profile in Washington through a PAC funded by its employees and through its new procurement office. The company is hiring four or five people specifically to pursue government contracts, and is looking for those with experience in appropriations in government, said Ward, an assistant secretary in the Energy Department during the first Bush administration.
Siemens is also trying to win state business. Its health-care IT company won a contract from Pennsylvania to link hospitals so they are alerted whenever an emergency room physician reports potential bioterrorism-related illnesses such as anthrax or smallpox.
"For most companies, the private market is relatively flat right now and has been for a little while," Ward said. "The public procurement, the public accounts are that much more attractive ... particularly in the security area and the defense area, obviously the budget continues to increase."
Siemens is far from alone in realizing that.
Others who have include Cerberus Capital Partners, which hired the Phoenix-based lobbying firm of former Vice President Dan Quayle to pursue contracting opportunities for companies it has an interest in.
The government's anti-terrorism effort is shaping up as an industry unto itself; the phrase "homeland security" began popping up on lobby registrations almost as soon as President Bush coined it last fall.
Dozens of companies have registered to lobby for domestic security contracts and grants in the past year, joining an already-long roster of businesses seeking military contracts.
Those hoping for homeland defense money include some long in the security business that are repackaging their products and services for government consumption and turning to lobbyists for help navigating the complex world of procurement. Others have experience winning contracts from the government, but are focusing anew on security.
The American Electronics Association has been holding procurement seminars around the country and plans to give the government a database of its members and their security offerings.
Walter White of the Dutko Group lobbying firm is trying to help at least eight companies win domestic security contracts.
With few specifics on what the federal government, including the upcoming Homeland Security Department, will be spending, White said he advises company executives to focus on building relationships so they can win contracts when more anti-terrorism money starts to flow.
Clients include experienced contractors like Illinois-based Motorola, which also has its own in-house lobbyists.
Jim Goldstein, who heads Motorola's Washington office, said his lobbying includes helping states that buy communications equipment from Motorola win federal grants they could use to equip their emergency response teams.
White said that for smaller players seeking government business for the first time, the first step is developing name recognition.
"We have contacts in all of the federal agencies, we have contacts within the governors' offices, many of the mayors - we will use those contacts to say that we have a company we believe is a leader in this industry and they are worthy of consideration," White said.
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